Does anybody really listen to music anymore?

16 June 2017

Steve Guttenberg writes ....

Having music "on" isn't the same thing as actually listening to it.

Music is all around us, it's just that very few people actually listen to it. Sure, you have music in your car, iPod, or computer, but is the music just a soundtrack to other activities? If music, a la carte, can't hold your attention from time to time you're definitely not an audiophile. Worse yet, you're missing a lot.

Think about it: the people who made the music sweated the details, agonized over the sound, the mix, and the performance for weeks or months. The composer tweaked the work to the nth degree, and still, very, very few "listeners" ever give music their undivided attention. They only hear the surface, the most obvious elements of the music. Multitask all you want, but can you just focus on the music? Let it really get to you.

Start with a song or two a week, close your eyes and just listen. If the band has a good drummer, listen to how .....